Indiana High Tunnel Initiative: Developing Extension-Farmer Partnerships for Education

Indiana High Tunnel Initiative: Developing Extension-Farmer Partnerships for Education

Summary

The target audience for this project includes Purdue Extension Educators and other agency personnel (Natural Resources Conservation Service- NRCS, Soil and Water Conservation Districts – SWCD, etc) who work with producers either currently involved in or considering adoption of high tunnel production systems.

Objectives/Performance Targets

• Increased Educator awareness and knowledge of high tunnel production opportunities and limitations, increased Educator and producer collaborative teaching events and resource development.

  Increased collaboration between Educators and producers on educational programs, increased number of programs, field days, publications and newsletter articles about high tunnels developed and presented, increased Educator skills in guiding producers through decisions about high tunnel production.

Accomplishments/Milestones

• Presentations on Indiana High tunnel adoption and use were given at Extension Area meetings and the Illiana Vegetable School in January 2010.
  3 core team Producers shared their High Tunnel growing experience as part of a High Tunnel Production session at the Indiana Horticultural Congress in January 2010.
  10 Purdue Extension Educators attended High Tunnel programs at Indiana Horticultural congress in 2010, programs attended included high tunnel design, 12months of production, fruit production in high tunnels, pesticides application rules for high tunnels and high tunnel soil fertility
  As part of the Indiana Horticultural congress a number of grant team members including educators, specialists and producers met to discuss grant goals, production issues and other concerns.
  Data collected during the year continues to be complied and work on Case Study publications/resources continue to be developed. Transition from the blog to a website began in the fall of 2010.
  Two high tunnel focused field days were held on cooperators farms, one focused on fertility in high tunnels and plant nutrition and the other one focused on flower production

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The number of participants at these presentations were as follows:
• Indiana Horticultural Congress
• Producer panel (3 grant team member producers) – 55 attendees including 8 Extension Educators
• Wish lists for your next high tunnel- 54 attendees including 8 Extension Educators
• Small fruits for high tunnel production- 33 attendees including 5 Extension Educators
• Clarifying rules for high tunnel pesticides applications – 52 attendees including 4 Extension Educators
• Creating a fertility management program for your high tunnel – 43 attendees including 6 Extension Educators
• Options for 12 months of production – 58 attendees including 8 Extension Educators.
• Illiana Vegetable Growers school – 65 attendees including 9 Extension Educators.
• Soil Fertility in High Tunnels Field Day – 35 attendees including 4 Extension Educators
• Flower Production Field day – 30 attendees including 5 Extension Educators
• Increasing interest and awareness of high tunnel production potential in Indiana has spawned additional programming related to high tunnels including session in Growing for Market webinar sponsored by Purdue Extension and delivered in the spring of 2010 with nearly 200 participating.

Collaborators: